


it's a love story, baby.

by Idnis



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Hand Jobs, M/M, Meet-Cute, Smut, because nicky is a gay disaster, just... everything is awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 10:45:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16533071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idnis/pseuds/Idnis
Summary: Nicky is dared to buy a box of XXL condoms.Or, alternatively,‘Huge dicks, amirite?’ Nicky said jokingly.





	it's a love story, baby.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely people!!
> 
> This idea wouldn't leave me alone so... accept these penises.
> 
> Again, this fic is beta'd by the wonderful [ClockworkDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockworkDragon) ♡
> 
> Enjoy!

Nicky had been to that particular supermarket only twenty thousand times.  
  
It sold fantastic microwave dinners, had cheap-ass liquor, and was nearby his rundown college apartment.  
It was convenient, okay?  
  
What _wasn’t_ convenient,  
was how he’d let himself be tricked into a game of truth or dare with his cousins.  
  
They were _vicious_ . Family meant nothing to them. It couldn’t, not when they let Nicky keep on drinking until he was happily buzzed, before asking him to play a few rounds.  
  
Nicky thought he’d be safe with a dare.  
Thought he’d escape Andrew’s sharp mind by choosing dare, because that couldn’t possibly lead to any embarrassing and/or awkward confessions.  
  
So wrong.  
  
Nicky entered the supermarket and immediately turned around again.  
  
‘I can’t do this,’ he said.  
  
Andrew’s face was relentlessly blank. ‘You want a truth instead?’  
  
_Uh-oh_ . Never ever would Nicky want to be interrogated by Andrew. There were loads of things in life he wasn’t proud of, and no way was he sharing those with his baby cousins.  
  
‘I can do this,’ Nicky said, turning around and surveying the store.  
  
He actually knew where he was supposed to be. His life on that front wasn’t as lonely as people might think.  
  
Head held high, Nicky marched to the aisle and searched the labels until—  
There.  
Nicky grabbed the box and held it against his stomach like it was his first born, before all but running towards the cash register.  
  
Three fucking guesses who was working tonight?  
  
Yeah. Yep. Totally the hot exchange student.  
The one Nicky had only gushed about for _days_ when he first started working here.  
  
Nicky shot a glare over his shoulder at Andrew.  
  
His cousin must’ve known. Must have. This was payback for all those texts and sneaky pictures Nicky had sent to their group chat.  
  
‘Hello?’ the hot cashier asked hesitatingly. ‘You’re going to buy something?’  
  
Nicky startled, then quickly handed his first born over to the hottest guy on the planet with the most adorable accent.  
  
Only it wasn’t his firstborn,  
but a pack of XXL condoms.  
  
Nicky flushed bright red. ‘Those are!’ he nearly shouted, then stopped.  
He probably shouldn’t bring attention to the huge box  
of huge condoms  
for people with huge dicks.  
  
‘Yes?’ the hot cashier asked, big hands grabbing the box.  
  
Wow. Big hands. He’d surely be able to handle a huge dick.  
  
‘Huge,’ Nicky said, staring.  
  
The guy looked at him. At the box. At him.  
  
Shit. Quick. _Improvise.  
  
_ ‘Huge dicks, amirite?’ Nicky said jokingly.  
  
Oh god, that sounded so wrong.  
  
‘Not that I’m into huge dicks, just that I have one—Uh, I mean, I _am_ into dicks but like, size doesn’t matter, right?’  
  
The guy looked at the XXL condoms again.  
  
He had yet to say anything.  
  
And somehow Nicky’s mind thought the painful silence needed to be broken.  
  
‘Can you believe t-those are actually small on me?’ Nicky grinned.  
  
The cashier finally scanned the huge box of huge condoms for people who were huge liars.  
  
‘Dunno,’ he replied with a smile that was out of this world. _So beautiful._ ‘I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.’  
  
Because people told the truth about their dick size _all_ the time.  
  
Nicky nodded. Which was impressive, seeing as all the blood in his body was currently in his cheeks.  
  
‘Yup. Yeah. Totally. Believe me and my big dick.’  
  
‘That’ll be 7 dollars,’ the guy replied, his blue eyes looking amused and absolutely _gorgeous_ .  
  
If Nicky could write poems, he’d dedicate pages to those eyes.  
Alas, he couldn’t, so all he squeaked was, ‘That expensive?!’  
  
It actually made the hottest cashier known to mankind laugh.  
  
It was a beautiful laugh, and Nicky immediately decided he needed to write a book about that laugh.  
  
‘I guess there’s also disadvantages to having a huge dick,’ the cashier said.  
  
Oh god. He said _dick_ .  
And now Nicky was going to think about hot guy and dicks.  
Hot guy had a dick. Probably.  
God.  
He had to leave.  
  
Nicky threw his money on the counter and grabbed the box.  
  
He should run.  
  
Yet something in him made him look up at the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed, and smile back.  
  
‘Thank you,’ Nicky said.  
  
‘Uh,’ was the reply. ‘It is my job? But enjoy!’  
  
And then.  
  
Then, Nicky yelled the first thing on his mind,  
because he had to make absolutely sure his dream guy, his future husband, the love of his life, knew that he was single.  
  
‘Oh, I’m not going to use them!’  
  
The confusion on dream guy’s face was the last thing Nicky saw before he turned on his heel and literally _ran_ out of the store.  
  
  
  
‘Why did I say that?’ Nicky moaned, pressing his hands into his eyes.  
  
All the colours of the rainbow flashed in front of his eyes because he was a Gay Disaster.  
  
‘Because you aren’t going to use them,’ Neil said.  
  
‘I know,’ Nicky groaned. ‘I am so pathetic.’  
  
Nobody said anything, because he was right and his friends were brutal.  
  
Nicky glared at Neil and Andrew. ‘If you’re going to visit me, you should at least indulge in my pity party.’  
  
‘We are,’ Andrew said. ‘We’re not shutting you up, are we?’  
  
It almost sounded like a threat, so Nicky took that as permission to keep complaining.  
  
‘I was willing to forgive the universe for letting me meet my future husband in a supermarket, but our first conversation was about _dicks_ ?’  
  
The talk flashed through his mind again.  
God, the confusion on hot guy’s face when Nicky said he was buying huge condoms he wasn’t even going to use.  
  
Andrew said, ‘You merely skipped a few steps.’  
  
Neil said, ‘It’s been weeks now.’  
  
There was a rapid, stiff knock on the door.  
  
‘Must be Kevin,’ Nicky said, leaping to his feet and opening the door to an intimidating tall guy that was, Nicky craned his neck back, yup, Kevin. ‘Come in.’  
  
‘I brought snacks,’ Kevin said, holding up a plastic bag.  
  
Shit.  
It was indeed Kevin’s turn to bring snacks for their weekly movie night.  
  
Because of husband drama, Nicky had forgotten to get extra snacks, since nobody really wanted to eat Kevin’s baby carrots.  
  
‘Nicky,’ Andrew said, leaning over the side of the couch.  
  
Oh no.  
  
‘I, uh, I forgot to get extra snacks,’ he confessed.  
  
‘I have an entire bag,’ Kevin said.  
  
‘ _Nicky_ ,’ Andrew said.  
  
Only it wasn’t really _saying_ as much as threatening Nicky’s perky ass. The ass he worked for on his squishy, orange yoga mat every Tuesday and Thursday.  
It couldn’t be threatened.  
It needed to live, and see lots of dick before it died a fabulous death.  
  
‘I’ll go get some!’ Nicky exclaimed, grabbing his coat and wallet, and running to the store.  
  
Only when he stepped through the sliding doors, did his trauma smack him in the face.  
  
Nicky’s head snapped to the cash registers.  
  
‘ _Future husband_ ,’ he whispered in horror.  
  
  
  
He could just. Pick another cashier.  
  
Nicky looked at the pile of ice cream in his hands.  
  
That wasn’t awkward, right? It was just ice cream, right?  
Wasn’t like he was advertising that he was going to drip this onto his lover’s body and sexily lick it off.  
Or something.  
  
Nicky was about to turn left and walk up to the unattractive old guy behind the register, when his future husband looked up  
and actually  
fucking  
recognized him.  
  
‘Hi!'  
  
‘Fuck me,’ Nicky said.  
  
But he couldn’t not walk over.  
  
So he dropped the ice cream on the counter in a messy heap. ‘Hi,’ he said awkwardly, looking everywhere _but_ at the dreamiest guy ever.  
  
_Bleep_ said the first tub of ice cream.  
  
The guy grabbed the box of Magnums next, and then actually,  
honest to god,  
grinned.  
  
‘Gotta stay on brand, right?’  
  
Nicky died.  
  
His mind was screaming.  
Screaming to act fucking normal, to make a joke, to appear as someone dream guy wanted to marry,  
but all he said was, ‘Yep. Gotta keep my jaw loose.’  
  
What.  
_What._ _  
__  
_ To future husband’s credit, he blushed.  
  
Wow.  
  
Nicky swore he could hear the angels sing. Could hear them applauding themselves for creating such a beautiful, beautiful man.  
  
_Bleep_ said the Magnums.  
  
And then the bitter reality dawned on Nicky.  
  
He wished he had _bleep_ ed himself too.  
God.  
There was nothing left to say now.  
  
Nicky paid, then gathered the ice cream with all the grace he could muster, cradling them in his arms like they were his long lost lover.  
  
They probably would be,  
because no way would future husband want to marry him, now that he’d talked about giving ice cream blowjobs.  
  
‘Hey,’ the angel himself suddenly called out. ‘Are you okay?’  
  
Nicky nearly dropped his long lost lover.  
  
‘Yeah? Uh, what?’  
  
‘It’s just. That’s a lot of ice cream. People usually buy ice cream when they’re heartbroken, right?’  
  
Oh wow. That was so thoughtful. So nice. The nicest.  
Nicky could cry.  
  
He actually did, he noticed, when husband’s eyes turned wide and startled. ‘I’m sorry! That’s insensitive of me!’  
  
Nicky was both mortified and in love.  
He couldn’t be crying in front of his sweet and sincere soulmate.  
  
Nicky only managed to shake his head before all but hurrying away.    
  
  
  
‘Have you been… _crying_?’ Kevin asked, frowning at Nicky’s face.  
  
‘No. Yes. Shut up,’ Nicky said, dumping the ice cream on his small coffee table.  
  
His heart warmed when he saw one of Andrew’s legs lying on Neil’s lap,  
saw Neil’s thumb brushing over the strip of bare skin between Andrew’s sock and sweatpants.  
  
And then his heart cooled the fuck off as it remembered what had happened.  
  
‘I cried in front of my husband,’ he whined.  
  
‘Your husband?’ Kevin asked.  
  
‘What?’ Neil said.  
  
Andrew merely reached for his tub of ice cream.  
  
‘He is _so nice_ , and I cried because he is so nice.’  
  
The lid of Kevin’s plastic bowl filled with baby carrots made a rude sound as it was ripped off.  
  
Nicky frowned at it. ‘You can’t go eating baby carrots when I’m ruining my only shot at happiness!’  
  
‘You’re already doing that by eating that shit,’ Kevin said, pointing at the stash of ice cream.  
  
Nicky saw the box of Magnums and nearly teared up again. ‘I’m never eating Magnums ever again.’  
  
There was conflict on Andrew’s face as he looked at the tub of ice cream in his hand and the box of Magnums on the table.  
  
  
  
Nicky thought he could never visit the store again, but after a long, long day at uni, he felt dead tired.  
He knew he wouldn’t eat tonight if he didn’t get one of those deliciously easy microwave dinners.  
  
Nicky ducked behind shelves of soup, taking a strategic approach this time as he peered over the top.  
  
The dreamiest guy ever was at the cash register again.  
He was helping other people, so Nicky was safe.  
  
Not his heart though.  
Nicky’s heart was pounding in his chest as he looked at the cashier, who was by far the handsomest and kindest man Nicky had ever met.  
  
Nicky needed to know his name.  
  
But then their past encounters flashed through his mind.  
God.  
He had _cried_ in front of him.  
  
Maybe he should just not visit this store anymore.  
Ever.  
  
Keeping low, Nicky made his way to the microwave section, feeling like a gremlin as he quickly put two into his basket.  
As he walked past the sweets section, he also snagged a few chocolate bars.  
Might as well go full-on gremlin mode.  
  
Nicky shuffled towards the register, and got in line behind an old lady.  
  
He didn’t mind the wait. It gave him ample time to leer at his future husband, admiring how his blue eyes seemed so gentle and soft,  
and the way he sexily filled out his non-sexy work uniform.  
  
And then Nicky spotted it.  
The name tag.  
  
It was clipped to his left pec,  
the place Nicky so desperately wanted to lay his head, listening to his steady heartbeat while husband would—  
  
‘In my time, stores would close around 6,’ the lady in front of Nicky interrupted his thoughts rudely. ‘The world was a better place when everyone still had a curfew. Nowadays, there’s all kinds of folk roaming around. It’s ‘cause everything’s still available to them. They think everything’s allowed. And before you know it, the coloured and gays will be taking over the world.’  
  
_Ex-fucking-scuse me.  
  
_‘With all due respect,’ hot cashier guy said, and his eyes found Nicky’s for just a moment. ‘I’m gay.’  
  
_Sweet jesus.  
_  
‘Pah,’ the old croon replied. She quickly paid for her groceries before leaving the store in a hurry.  
  
_Good riddance.  
  
_Heart pounding, Nicky stepped forward and dumped his microwave meals on the counter.  
  
‘Gee, imagine if I had been behind that counter,’ he grinned hesitantly. ‘I’m coloured _and_ gay.’  
  
The cashier laughed,  
and it was the most beautiful sound in the world and Nicky was so unworthy of hearing it.  
  
Their eyes met again.  
  
It was in that magical moment, where they simply looked at each other,  
dream guy with a sweet smile on his face and Nicky probably looking dazed as fuck,  
that Nicky suddenly realized they were both gay.  
  
They were both  
gay.  
  
Gay.  
Husband. Was. In fact. A Gay.  
  
Nicky gasped. ‘We’re both gay.’  
  
Dream guy nodded. ‘Seems like it.’ He was trying to be serious, but there was still a smile on his face.  
  
_Bleep_ said the first microwave dinner.  
  
Nicky suddenly remembered he had yet to read the name tag.  
He peered inconspicuously at the beautiful breast of his future husband.  
  
Erik.  
  
_Bleep_ said the second microwave dinner.

‘I see you’re having a romantic dinner for two,’ dream guy, _Erik_ , joked.  
  
‘No, Erik!’ Nicky exclaimed in shock. Husband couldn’t think he was seeing other men.  
  
Erik blinked. ‘You know my name.’  
  
Well, now Nicky felt like a creeper. And a gremlin. A creeper gremlin.  
  
Meanwhile, Erik seemed to have realize how he knew, because he said, ‘Oh, my name tag.’  
  
‘I’m sorry,’ Nicky said, fumbling for his wallet. ‘That was very weird. People don’t call cashiers by their name. Even though you do have the name tags, so it’s not like I was a creeper and spent an ungodly amount of time on google trying to find out your name and where you live.’  
  
Someone shut him up.  
  
‘I’m sorry, this is a weird conversation. At least we’re not talking about dicks, right?’ Nicky’s eyes turned wide when he realized what he’d done. ‘Oh god, I started talking about dicks again.’  
  
Erik was quiet for a while.  
  
Nicky wanted to move states.  
  
‘It’s okay,’ Erik said finally, _bleep_ ing the last of Nicky’s chocolate bars. ‘I’m gay, remember? I don’t mind dicks.’  
  
‘Oh,’ Nicky sighed in relief. ‘So you also think about dicks all the time.’  
  
‘Uh,’ said Erik.  
  
Apparently not.  
  
Apparently, only Nicky was currently thinking about dicks,  
Erik’s dick in particular,  
in his local supermarket at 10 pm.  
  
God, Nicky needed to get away _now_ before he started speculating what Erik’s dick looked like.  
  
Not that it mattered.  
He would treat it lovingly whatever the size or shape.  
  
Nicky threw his money on the counter and quickly gathered his loot in his arms  
when Erik asked, ‘So what’s your name?’  
  
The question nearly startled two years off of Nicky’s life.  
  
He must’ve flashed Erik the crazy eyes, because Erik quickly added, ‘Now that you know mine.’  
  
‘Oh yeah.’ That made sense. ‘Otherwise you would’ve called me dick guy, right?’  
  
‘Uh,’ said Erik.  
  
God.  
He’d said dick again.  
  
He couldn’t be trusted in public anymore.  
  
Without another word,  
because it probably would’ve been _dick_ anyway,  
Nicky turned and ran out of the store.  
  
  
  
‘Oh my god,’ Allison said, unhelpfully. ‘You actually said _dick guy_ to him?’  
  
In response, Nicky stuffed his face with chocolate.  
  
Allison’s webcam turned blurry for a second as she laughed, the camera shaking.  
  
‘You laugh about my misery,’ Nicky complained. ‘I feel like I shouldn’t have told you this.’  
  
‘You’re probably right,’ Allison said with a grin. Now that she was done laughing about Nicky’s terrible life, her gorgeous face was in focus again. ‘But I’m glad you did. Tell me again what he looks like, I might’ve seen him around.’  
  
‘Only like the most beautiful man on the planet. Like, almost like you’d expect him to have fallen out of heaven.’  
  
‘Really.’  
  
Nicky nodded miserably.  
  
‘I thought you were religious?’ Allison asked.  
  
‘Erik’s face has only solidified my faith. I feel like I’ve seen an angel.’  
  
Allison wrinkled her nose in disgust. ‘I want to find this sweet, but I don’t. It’s just gross.’

A door shut somewhere in Allison’s apartment, and then Renee walked past the webcam. She unwound her scarf, then peered shortly at Allison’s screen.  
  
‘Oh, hi Nicky!’  
  
Nicky managed a pathetic wave.  
  
Renee moved closer. So close, that a few strands of her hair brushed against the top of Allison’s head. ‘What are we talking about? Everything okay?’  
  
‘No, he’s being a gross boy,’ Allison said. ‘He just pulled a _he fell out of heaven_ with me.’  
  
‘Naww,’ Renee smiled. ‘I think it’s sweet.’  
  
‘Yeah?’ Allison tilted her head back. ‘You want someone to call you their angel?’  
  
‘I wouldn’t complain, no.’  
  
Nicky rolled his eyes.  
He wondered how many more years he had to watch this awkward tango.  
  
But he wasn’t going to stick his nose into their business and say something.  
His mouth couldn’t be trusted.  
He used it to say dick.  
  
And also _on_ di—  
  
‘Anyway,’ Allison interrupted Nicky’s dick thoughts. ‘When are you going back?’  
  
_‘Back?!_ ’ Nicky squeaked. ‘I’m _never_ going back. I don’t think I can look Erik in the face again.’  
  
‘Oh, his name’s Erik?’ Renee spoke up. ‘Did you tell him yours?’  
  
Allison grinned. ‘No, no, get this. This is the good part, Renee. Erik actually _asked_ his name, and then Nicky, Nicky just flat-out said, “ _Ooh, otherwise you would’ve called me dick guy._ ”’  
  
When even Renee cringed,  
Nicky knew he was doomed.  
  
  
  
He was.  
  
He was absolutely doomed. Must be, because Nicky was just returning from the gym, all sweaty and _gross_ , hair a sticky mess on his head, when he walked past the store and bumped into Erik.  
  
Or more like, fell over Erik’s heavenly legs and face-planted the street.  
  
Erik had been sitting on the ground with his back to the wall, staring up at the night sky or something.  
Nicky had no idea.  
He was face-planting the street.  
  
‘ _Ugh_ ,’ he said charmingly.  
  
‘Oh gosh, are you okay?’ Erik asked, a hand touching Nicky’s back in concern.  
  
‘Yes,’ Nicky said, lifting his head when Erik exclaimed, ‘Oh, it’s you! Dick guy!’  
  
Nicky wondered if he could smash his own face in  
right here  
right now.  
  
‘I take it back,’ he mumbled. ‘I’m not okay.’  
  
Erik laughed. ‘I’m sorry, you never actually told me your name.’  
  
‘Nicky.’  
  
‘Are you actually going to get up, Nicky?’  
  
‘No, Erik.’  
  
Erik laughed again, and then the blissful hand on Nicky’s back disappeared.  
Nicky peered under his arm and saw that Erik had moved back to his spot against the wall.  
  
‘What were you doing there anyway?’ Nicky mumbled.  
  
‘Looking at the stars.’

‘Looking for your home?’  
  
Oh god.  
Nicky slapped a hand over his treacherous mouth, but Erik nodded. ‘Sort of. I used to look at the stars back home too. If I stare long enough, I feel like I’m back.’  
  
Nicky moved to his knees.  
Great, now he was kneeling in the middle of the sidewalk.  
He hesitatingly moved to sit next to Erik.  
  
‘And where’s that?’ he asked quietly.  
  
‘Germany. Stuttgart.’

‘I’ve never been out of the country,’ Nicky confessed. ‘It must’ve been such a big step for you.’  
  
‘Yeah, kind of. But it’s not like I can’t find my home here.’  
  
Nicky turned to Erik.  
  
Illuminated by the lantern on the corner of the street, he looked very soft and wistful. And so beautiful.  
  
‘Find?’  
  
A small smile turned the corners of Erik’s mouth. ‘Yeah. I believe home can be anything.’  
  
For some reason, the air felt alive with _something_ .  
It hummed, and created little sparks when Erik shuffled his feet and accidentally touched Nicky’s leg.  
  
‘And…’ Nicky’s voice sounded hoarse. ‘Have you found it yet?’  
  
Erik was quiet for some time. His breath wasn’t clouding in front of him, not yet, but it was cold enough that his cheeks and nose were slightly red.  
  
‘No,’ Erik said finally. ‘No, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.’  
  
Then he turned to Nicky. His eyes widened.  
  
Oh shit.  
Nicky had forgotten all about his current state.  
Gay and Sweaty.  
  
Allison’s voice echoed through his mind.  
  
_Gross boy.  
  
_ ‘You’re damp!’ Erik said. ‘You shouldn’t be outside when it’s so cold!’  
  
Damp.  
He was _damp_ .  
  
Nicky winced, and moved to his feet. ‘I was hoping for handsome, but I’ll take it.’  
  
‘Hold up!’ Erik immediately sprang to his feet, and ran inside the store. When he returned, he was holding a blue scarf. ‘Here! Take it.’  
  
Nicky stared.  
  
Husband had given Nicky a scarf.  
  
‘Take it!’ Erik shook the scarf. ‘Or you’ll catch a cold.’  
  
But Nicky’s mind was showing a blue screen.  
  
Shaking his head, Erik moved a step closer _holy fucking shit_ and then wrapped the scarf around Nicky’s neck.  
  
‘There,’ he said with a smile that made Nicky’s legs weak. ‘Looks handsome.’  
  
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the end of Nicky Hemmick’s sanity.  
No words were available, everything was out of stock. Try again another day.  
  
‘I have to go back to work,’ Erik said apologetically, taking a step back. ‘Take care okay?’  
  
Something in Nicky remembered he needed to nod. He did.  
  
Erik smiled, did a ridiculously cute little wave,  then disappeared into the store Nicky had sworn he wouldn’t go in again.  
  
  
  
‘It’s weird if I sniff it, right?’  
  
‘Nicky, I swear to god,’ Allison said. ‘I will hang up on you. It’s 12am, you—’  
  
‘I shouldn’t sniff it.’  
  
‘— _cannot_ call me about sniffing some guy’s clothing.’  
  
‘It’s just a scarf.’  
  
‘Nicky. _Do not_ . Sniff it.’  
  
‘Yeah. Yeah, no, I’m not gonna.’  
  
‘I’m squinting my eyes at you.’  
  
‘I won’t! I promise!’  
  
‘Good. _Bye_ , gross boy.’  
  
‘Bye, bish.’  
  
Nicky hung up and stared at the scarf on his bed.  
It was weird to put it on his bed, yes, but his couch felt unworthy, just like his table and his chairs and basically every other surface in the house.  
  
He trailed a hand over the soft fabric  
and remembered Erik’s sweet smile.  
  
Nicky’s heart jumped inside his chest. A stupid grin spread over his own face.  
  
He shouldn’t sniff it.  
He shouldn’t.  
  
  
  
[Nicky]  
i fucking love musk

[Allison]  
god you sniffed the scarf  
  
  
  
It was common courtesy to wash a borrowed item before returning it.  
  
But as Nicky grasped the soft scarf in his hands, he was instantly reminded of the chilly evening,  
of Erik’s light blue eyes that looked so very friendly,  
and his soft smile that told Nicky he cared.  
  
Nicky’s heart clenched.  
  
It was kind of ridiculous, right? Getting so hung up on this guy he’d never really talked to.  
  
But while they might not have talked _much_ ,  
their conversations had always meant something to Nicky.  
They told him so much about who Erik was. What he thought was funny and what not. What his morals were.  
  
Nicky bit his lip and stared at the scarf.  
  
He didn’t want to return it.  
But it barely smelled of the comforting warmth of musk anymore.  
It barely smelled of Erik anymore.  
  
Besides, it was the perfect excuse for another conversation.  
  
  
  
It was _pouring.  
  
_Nicky was running towards the store, the scarf bundled underneath his winter coat.  
He hadn’t even washed the thing. It would be absolutely _horrible_ if he also returned it a soggy, gross mess.  
  
The doors opened with their usual _ping_. Nicky was panting as he walked inside.   
He wasn’t made for sprinting.  
  
It was fairly busy in the store, but a lot of people were merely lingering because of the bad weather.  
  
Nicky peered at the cash registers. The line in front of Erik’s register was the longest. So maybe people were actually stalling because of the ridiculously dreamy being that was Erik.  
  
Nicky squinted at everyone as he shuffled closer.  
  
And then.  
Wow, and then,  
_then_ , Erik saw him.  
  
And he smiled.  
And it lit up this cheap-ass supermarket like no light bulb ever could.  
Erik was like the most expensive candle, giving off this warm and brilliant light that instantly made you feel better.  
  
Nicky wanted to cuddle up in that smile.  
Wanted to bask in its warmth.  
  
He sighed dreamily.  
  
Erik gestured to the line in front of him, and mouthed, _‘Wait for me?_ ’  
  
Nicky nodded and mouthed back, _‘Forever_.’ But Erik was already helping the next customer.  
  
Luckily.  
  
Nicky wandered around. He stopped near the magazines. He leafed mindlessly through them, until his finger hooked behind a thick, glossy magazine with thick, glossy men.  
  
Nicky felt his cheeks grow hot, but he couldn’t resist lifting it up a little, taking just a _little_ peek at the beautiful abs—  
  
‘Oh, there you are!’  
  
Startled, Nicky threw the magazine in the air.  
  
Glossy abs and gay men flew through the air for a few glorious seconds, before the magazine fluttered to the ground,  
and fell open  
on the spread in the middle.  
  
Erik and Nicky looked at the huge dick.  
  
Erik said, ‘Wow.’  
  
Nicky said, ‘Uh.’  
  
Erik said, ‘That’s a really big penis.’  
  
Nicky wanted to disappear.  
  
Erik said, ‘Do you think he needs XXL condoms?’  
  
Nicky looked up in surprise, and saw that Erik was smiling at him.  
  
His heart jumped in his chest,  
and though it seemed impossible, Nicky fell even deeper in love.  
  
When Erik bent down to pick up the magazine and put it back,  
Nicky quickly scrambled to find his dignity and the scarf.  
  
He held it out. The scarf. ‘I actually came to return this.’  
  
‘Ah, thanks. You didn’t need to come out in the rain though. There’s no hurry, I have more at home.’ Erik leaned a little closer, lowering his voice like he was telling a secret. ‘My friends say I have a scarf problem, but I think that’s ridiculous.’  
  
He smiled cheekily.  
And murdered Nicky. Cutting off his breath from the sudden overload of feelings.  
  
How cute was it to hoard scarves?  
_Too cute_ , that was what.  
  
Nicky was swooning big time, but he still managed to say calmly, ‘Oh, don’t worry. It wasn’t raining when I went out.’  
  
‘Oh, of course. Or you would’ve brought an umbrella, right?’  
  
Ha. Who even had umbrellas any more.  
  
‘Uh, yeah. Totally.’  
  
‘No worries, we sell them here.’  
  
Erik walked towards the door and pointed at a box that exclaimed it held umbrellas. ‘There,’ he said. Then he gave Nicky an apologetic smile. ‘I have to get back to work now, but thanks so much, yeah?’  
  
Erik held up the scarf, then walked back.  
  
Nicky was sad to watch it go, but when Erik turned around  
he was also immensely pleased with the universe  
for giving Erik the best ass he’d ever seen.  
  
‘Is there anything not perfect about you?’ he murmured.  
  
‘Eh?’ said an old lady. She was bowed over the box with umbrellas, and emerged triumphantly with the—Nicky double-checked— _last_ umbrella.  
  
‘Hey!’ he said, ‘I need that one!’  
  
The lady narrowed her eyes at him. ‘I’m old.’  
  
Wow.  
  
‘But it’s pouring!’ Nicky said, pointing outside.  
  
‘And you want me to walk in the cold?’  
  
Well… No. But now Nicky didn’t have an excuse to go up to Erik’s register.  
  
‘I need it,’ he whispered. ‘I need to seduce my future husband.’  
  
But the old lady was unimpressed. ‘Use Tinder like my grandchildren.’  
  
Then she shuffled away with her old lady privileges.  
  
Nicky was slightly offended.  
Not enough to fight an old lady over an umbrella however, so he just sulked towards the chocolate aisle and grabbed a few of his favourite bars.  
  
Erik looked surprised as he scanned the chocolate. ‘No umbrella?’  
  
‘An old lady beat me to the last one,’ Nicky pouted.  
  
Erik stared at him. Then he laughed. ‘I thought you went to the gym?’  
  
_What?_ Nicky gaped. ‘Excuse you, I do. I work out _every_ week. Have you even seen my thighs?’  
  
‘Yeah,’ Erik replied easily.  
  
That stopped Nicky short.  
His next words got stuck in his throat,  
and his heart was pounding wildly.  
  
_Oh_.  
  
‘Uh,’ he said.  
  
‘If you can wait one more hour,’ Erik said, ‘I can walk you home. I have an umbrella with me.’  
  
‘Uh,’ Nicky replied.  
  
‘But if you’re in a hurry…’  
  
Nicky snapped out of his Gay Daze. ‘ _No!’_ he all but screeched. ‘I will wait forever!’  
  
‘Oh,’ said Erik. He blinked.  
  
God. _Stop forever-ing husband, Nicky.  
  
_‘I meant, I can wait an hour. I’ll just read some magazines or something.’  
  
‘Mhm. Seemed like you already did some _heavy_ reading.’  
  
Nicky felt his cheeks heat up.  
They must be so red. He could probably stand in the window and people would think he was a neon light.  
  
‘I wasn’t looking at dicks,’ he said weakly.  
  
‘Hey, I’m not judging. Gotta stay on brand, right?’  
  
Nicky groaned,  
but when he looked up, Erik was still giving him that warm, easy smile  
that told Nicky  
it wasn’t a lie.  
  
There was no judgement or disgust.  
Just acceptance.  
  
Okay, and a lot of teasing.  
  
  
  
Raindrops hit the red umbrella as Erik opened it,  
the soft splashing reminding Nicky of cozy blankets and candles and hot chocolate.  
  
Erik’s arm was warm as it brushed against him,  
and all the cozy feelings intensified, like, tenfold.  
  
‘Where to?’ Erik asked, looking absolutely adorable in his big scarf and big winter coat.  
  
‘Oh, it’s just, uh, that way,’ Nicky said, pointing towards his apartment building. You could just see the top from here.  
  
‘Wow, that’s close.’  
  
As they walked, they took care not to step in any puddles or get too close to the road.  
  
Nicky resisted the urge to sidle against Erik.  
To slip his arm through Erik’s.  
To hold onto this beautiful man.  
  
‘Cause there was no way he would want to stay with Nicky, right?  
  
His own family hadn’t wanted to stay with him. Not _him.  
_Someone who acted like Nicky, yes. Someone who said and did the things they wanted Nicky to do.  
Someone who loved who they wanted him to love.  
  
It didn’t matter how respectable Erik was,  
the person they wanted Nicky to be wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him.  
  
Nicky took a deep breath  
and held it.  
  
When it started to hurt to keep in,  
he released it,  
trying to let go of all the negative thoughts.  
Trying to blow the hatred and pain into the air.  
  
‘That’s a deep sigh,’ Erik said quietly.  
  
‘Just thinking.’  
  
‘Care to share?’  
  
Oh, yes, that would be _such_ a good idea. Share his internalized homophobia. Share all his fear and pain on their first date.  
No, wait, _before_ their first date.  
  
‘No, it’s just—’ Nicky paused and turned to Erik, trying to smile it off.  
  
But Erik was looking at him with an open expression. Totally interested. And safe.  
So safe.  
  
‘I feel this may be too intense for a stroll in the rain,’ Nicky said, cringing a little. ‘You know, sharing all my deepest fears, my flaws, my internalized homophobia, haha…’  
  
Erik didn’t laugh.  
Instead, he said, ‘I’m sorry.’  
  
And all the humour left the conversation.  
  
‘Oh.’  
  
Erik said, ‘You shouldn’t feel like that about yourself. I’m sorry people made you feel like you should hate who you love.’  
  
‘I don’t hate who I love,’ Nicky whispered.  
  
_I don’t think I could ever hate you  
_was the thought he wanted to say out loud.  
  
Erik gave him a smile, one that was warmer than blankets and candles and hot chocolate.  
  
How did he manage to make Nicky feel so warm inside?  
  
The next few minutes, they were both quiet,  
the only sound the rain,  
and a few cars driving by.  
  
‘Do you like the rain?’ Erik asked.  
  
Nicky looked up at the umbrella.  
Watched the raindrops splatter against the red fabric.  
  
‘It’s okay. I like it better when I’m at home and inside.’  
  
‘Mmm. What about dancing in the rain?’  
  
Nicky shot Erik an incredulous look. ‘What?’  
  
But Erik looked straight ahead, face carefully neutral.  
  
Nicky watched him for a few seconds, because looking away was always near impossible, before answering, ‘I know this is a thing in the movies, but-’  
  
Erik suddenly moved the umbrella.  
  
Rain fell mercilessly down on Nicky.  
  
‘My hair!’ he screamed, reaching for the umbrella.  
  
But before he could yank the handle towards himself, Erik held it above their heads again.  
A smile was spreading on his face.  
  
Nicky squinted. ‘ _Don’t_ do that agai— _aaah!_ ’  
  
The rain was merciless, just like Erik.  
Raindrops fell apart on Nicky’s cheeks and nose, and dripped down his face.  
  
Nicky immediately jumped for the umbrella again, but Erik moved back, holding it high above his head.  
  
Nicky tried again, but Erik’s arm was nicely muscled and long and so he couldn’t reach.  
  
Damn Erik’s gorgeous arms.  
  
Nicky was slowly getting drenched.  
  
‘I thought you didn’t want me to get sick!’ he exclaimed, trying one last time to reach for the umbrella.  
  
This time,  
instead of moving back,  
Erik stayed where he was.  
  
Nicky bumped against his chest, and before he could lose his balance, Erik’s arm wrapped around him.  
  
The umbrella was over their heads again.  
Not that Nicky noticed anything other than Erik’s perfect lips.  
  
This close, he could do nothing but stare at them,  
wonder how it would feel to be a glass Erik drank out of.  
  
‘What did you think?’ Erik laughed.  
  
‘I want to be a glass you drink out of,’ Nicky answered breathlessly.  
  
Erik’s eyes widened.  
  
So did Nicky’s.  
  
Oh.  
No.  
Oh.  
God.  
He meant the fucking rain of course he did fuck fuck fuck _fuck.  
  
_Nicky scrambled back. ‘Uhhhh.’  
  
Blushing handsomely, Erik released him quickly, because _of course_ he did.  
  
He was probably extremely embarrassed about the levels of Thirst he’d just witnessed.  
  
Nicky wondered briefly how long it would take to drown himself in the rain.  
Not that it mattered.  
He’d drown in his own embarrassment first.  
  
Trying to save this hopeless situation and his hopeless Gay Ass, Nicky sharply turned away from Erik.  
  
‘Look!’ he forced out. ‘We’re almost there, ahaha, how convenient! You don’t have to walk me to the door, I can definitely walk. Alone. In the rain. Don’t worry about me. It’s not actually sad. What’s sad is the shit that comes out of my mouth, but not me walking alone right now. Nope, that’s definitely not… sad.’  
  
Erik didn’t say anything.  
  
Great.  
Nicky had really, _really_ fucked this one up.  
  
Feeling like he might never recover from this, Nicky simply started walking. He ducked his head to escape the death trap that was, apparently, umbrellas.  
  
Yes, death trap.  
No exaggeration.  
This shitty little umbrella had just _killed_ the perfect marriage Erik and Nicky would’ve had.  
It had been murdered.  
Cut to pieces by—  
  
‘Wait!’ Erik said, and he reached for him.  
  
Except that moved the umbrella too.  
  
Nicky’s forehead got stuck behind the murderous umbrella. He stumbled back, rubbing his forehead. ‘Ouch.’  
  
‘Oh god, sorry, are you okay?’ Erik asked, brushing Nicky’s wet hair out of his face to look at his forehead. He looked concerned.  
  
‘Does it at least look rugged?’ Nicky asked miserably.  
  
‘Mhm.’ And Erik smiled again. ‘Very.’  
  
It was then, that Nicky realized they were once again standing way too close.  
  
Wow.  
He really could look into Erik’s eyes forever,  
breathe in his slightly minty breath for eternity,  
and stay this close to Erik for maybe  
all his life.  
  
Just to, uh, name a period of time.  
You know.

‘A glass, huh,’ Erik said.  
  
‘Oh god,’ Nicky said, remembering once again why it couldn’t be _forever_ .  
  
Because he had a mouth,  
and it wouldn’t shut up.  
  
‘You wouldn’t be a glass.’  
  
His mouth just kept on talking and talking and talking, saying things to husband like—  
  
Nicky blinked. ‘What?’  
  
Erik reached out a hand, and trailed his fingers over Nicky’s cold cheeks,  
before cupping the back of his head.  
  
‘What,’ Nicky said, staring wide-eyed, as Erik pulled him closer.  
  
‘You wouldn’t be a glass,’ Erik murmured, tilting Nicky’s head back slightly. ‘You’d be my favourite mug.’  
  
The words were whispers against Nicky’s lips.  
  
The kiss was just as quiet.

Erik kissed him,  
and it wasn’t fireworks.  
  
It wasn’t loud and flashy and every colour of the rainbow.  
  
It was the soft sound of rain hitting a red umbrella,  
the strain in his legs as he stood on his tiptoes,  
and the warmth of Erik’s words in his heart.  
  
It was feeling safe,  
and hidden,  
even while standing outside in the cold rain.  
  
Erik leaned back. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Was that too much?’  
  
‘No,’ Nicky breathed. ‘No, definitely not.’  
  
The words made Erik smile shyly, before he leaned forward and brushed his nose against Nicky’s.  
  
Nicky was sure his spirit left his body and transcended to heaven.  
  
‘You calling me your favourite mug is _so_ much better than me talking about dicks,’ he sighed.  
  
_No wait no_ .  
  
But Erik’s smile turned slightly mischievous,  
which was a _very_ good look on him, _holy—  
  
_ ‘If you want more dicks, I can do that.’

‘Uh,’ said Nicky.  
  
All the blood in his brain had disappeared,  
and was currently having a sleepover in his dick.  
  
‘Kidding,’ Erik said.  
  
_Naww_ said Nicky’s penis.  
  
‘Haha,’ Nicky laughed weakly.  
  
Erik’s expression turned serious again. ‘Do you still want to walk alone?’  
  
‘No!’ Nicky exclaimed. ‘No, definitely not.’  
  
So the umbrella, no wait _death trap_ moved forward, and they moved with it.  
  
Meanwhile, the rain hadn’t stopped falling,  
just like Nicky couldn’t stop himself from falling.  
  
_Hard._  
  
And speaking of things that were hard, Nicky also found it incredibly difficult  
to keep the big smile off his face.  
  
It kept returning,  
kept replaying the moment Erik had smiled,  
the words he’d whispered,  
and the kiss he’d pressed against his lips.  
  
  
  
‘And the rain was just… _magical_. I think it really added to the whole romantic, vulnerable atmosphere we had going on.’  
  
Silence.  
  
‘Ask me what he did then, Kevin.’  
  
Kevin sighed. ‘What did he do then.’  
  
‘That didn’t really sound like a question but that’s okay. I’ll tell you anyway, because we both know your love life is like a dry wasteland, and mine is currently a fairytale-esque field of flowers. Look at that alliteration. I should’ve been an English major. Anyway-’  
  
‘Can you wrap it up? My next class starts in fifteen minutes.’  
  
Nicky shot Kevin an exasperated look.  
But he wasn’t really angry.  
He knew Kevin was just jealous of the wonderful Gay Life he was living with his handsome husband.  
  
‘ _Fine_. So then Erik walked me to the door, and smiled very prettily, looking all dreamy in his navy blue winter coat, and with the same lips he kissed me with he said… _Goodbye, Nicky._ ’  
  
They stopped in front of Kevin’s class.  
  
Nicky fully expected Kevin to immediately walk off, seething in jealousy obviously, but to his surprise, Kevin turned to him and asked, ‘So you got his number?’

‘Uh, no.’  
  
‘You have a date?’  
  
‘...No.’  
  
Kevin frowned. ‘So aside from your “epic” romance, you literally haven’t progressed beyond the supermarket?’  
  
Nicky’s heart stuttered in his chest  
as he realized the answer was, again,  
_no_.   
  
No, they hadn’t.  
  
What did that mean?  
  
Kevin’s frown disappeared as he watched Nicky’s expression morph from glee to devastation.  
  
If Nicky had been paying attention, he might’ve seen Kevin’s eyes soften slightly.  
  
But he wasn’t.  
It was hard to concentrate on anything,  
his breathing going quicker and quicker by the second as he recalled all the stupid things he’d said in front of Erik.  
  
Of course they hadn’t progressed any further.  
Erik probably didn’t _want_ to.  
  
Who’d want to be dick guy’s boyfriend?  
Yeah.  
No one.  
  
‘Maybe you should go back to the supermarket,’ Kevin said. ‘I have to go now, but uh. Good luck.’

He took a step in the direction of his class, then paused and said, ‘Let me know how it goes.’  
  
Wow.  
Nicky must’ve looked as miserable as he felt.  
  
  
  
It was impossible to focus in class.  
  
The girls he usually hung out with tried to cheer him up, but Nicky’s mind was like a maze where the hedges were doubt and fear and the only exit was self-hatred.  
He was trying to find another way out,  
and not immediately go down that path,  
but it was so very hard.  
  
When it was time to leave, he put away his magazine clippings without any enthusiasm.  
  
‘Let’s eat at my place tonight!’ one of the girls, Kate, suggested.  
  
The others quickly agreed. ‘We can rewatch Sex and the City, eat some greasy pizza, do a sheetmask... How does that sound?’  
  
Like a valiant way to cheer him up.  
  
Nicky knew he should go to the supermarket.  
Clear things up with Erik.  
  
But his mouth said, ‘Yeah. That sounds great.’   
  
  
  
The next few days were anything but great.  
  
You could only try to bury your feelings in fantastic friends, Sex and the City, and greasy pizzas so many times  
before your stomach and heart began protesting.  
  
Yet Nicky refused to budge.  
  
Even when Kevin texted him.  
  
[Kevin]  
That bad?  
  
Nicky couldn’t very well answer that _yes,_ it was that bad, because he was doomed to never find happiness.  
He could hear his parents say, _told you so.  
  
_A knock on his door.  
  
So maybe after so many days locked in his room, his thoughts had gotten a little out of hand,  
but it was really _not_ an overreaction when Neil knocked on his door,  
_bleeding out of his fucking arm.  
  
_‘ _Oh my god!_ ’ Nicky exclaimed, ushering Neil inside. ‘What happened? Why are you bleeding? Why are you bleeding _so much?!_ ’  
  
Neil groaned. ‘Fight.’  
  
‘With _who?!_ ’  
  
‘Some guy from another team. Don’t know his name.’  
  
Nicky guided Neil to his couch, then immediately ran for his first aid kit.  
  
He opened it with shaky fingers, because blood, and was met with two sad bandages and an empty box of skittles.  
  
‘ _Fuck_ ,’ he muttered, throwing the box aside and rummaging through his empty drawers.  
  
It had been a while since they’d gotten into a fight with another Exy team, but this seemed eerily deliberate.  
Like that guy had specifically sought Neil out.  
  
‘Hang in there!’ Nicky called out, rushing back to the living room. ‘I’m going to the store to grab some bandages, I’ll be back in no time.’  
  
‘Nicky, wait—’ Neil tried, but Nicky felt time was of the essence here, _so much blood holy shit_ , so he just ran through the door and down the stairs.  
  
No time to waste.  
  
He dialed Andrew’s number, which he luckily had on speed dial because running and dialling a number wasn’t easy.  
  
Andrew picked up on the first try. ‘Yeah?’  
  
‘It’s Neil,’ Nicky rushed, ‘He’s wounded, got into a fight with some rando, he’s in my apartment and bleeding a lot.’  
  
The call disconnected.  
  
Panic aside, Nicky found it very sweet that Andrew wasted not even one second  
to get to Neil as fast as possible.  
  
Finally, the store came into view, because Nicky was very much out of breath, and without thinking it through, Nicky ran inside and made for the health section.  
  
Except the floor had just been cleaned.  
  
With a squeak, Nicky slipped  
and fell on the ground with a hard smack.  
  
‘Shit!’ he heard someone exclaim. ‘Are you okay?’  
  
But there was no time. Nicky scrambled to his feet, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.  
  
‘Nicky, shit, are you okay?’ Erik asked. He looked shocked, eyes darting over Nicky’s hand and shirt.  
  
Nicky looked down too, and noticed both were red with Neil’s blood.  
  
‘Oh,’ he said, ‘It’s not mine.’  
  
‘Yeah, that doesn’t make me less worried.’ Erik stared at him. ‘Nicky, what’s going on? Are you in trouble?’  
  
‘No, no, not me,’ Nicky said quickly. ‘I need to—I need to get bandages. And disinfectant.’  
  
Erik nodded, and made for the right aisle without another question. He quickly grabbed a few packages of both, then headed for the counter and quickly scanned the bunch.  
  
Nicky fumbled for his card, but Erik stopped him. ‘I’ll pay. It’s quicker.’  
  
_Quicker_ was why Nicky agreed. He nodded, and opened his mouth to say sorry, but Erik cut him off.  
  
‘Just promise me you’re okay.’  
  
‘I am,’ Nicky said.  
  
‘Here,’ Erik said, pressing the supplies in his hands. ‘I wish I could come with you. Help you out.’  
  
‘What?’ Nicky blinked in surprise. His heart surged in his chest. ‘You’re not sick of me?’  
  
‘What? Why would I be?’  
  
‘I thought… I thought because we hadn’t exchanged numbers or anything.’  
  
Nicky’s phone rang before Erik could answer.  
One quick look at the caller, _Andrew_ , told Nicky he’d managed to be slower than Andrew. Crap.  
  
‘Gotta go,’ he said, and rushed out of the store, wishing with his entire being that he could’ve heard Erik’s answer.  
  
  
  
Andrew said nothing as he ripped the supplies out of Nicky’s arms.  
He immediately went to Neil, who was sitting shirtless and bloodied on Nicky’s couch.  
  
Still catching his breath, Nicky watched Andrew quickly clean up the mess that was Neil’s arm.  
  
There was no mistaking the anger in his cousin’s eyes.  
  
‘You think it was Edgar Allen?’ Nicky asked quietly.  
  
‘Unlikely,’ Neil answered, sounding _very_ sure.  
  
Andrew didn’t say anything, just continued wrapping Neil’s arm in bandages.  
  
And okay, so maybe it wasn’t the best timing, but now that the immediate danger was gone…  
  
‘I have some good news,’ Nicky announced with a smile. ‘I think there might be a wedding after all.’  
  
  
  
‘God, Nicky, why are we still Skyping? Now we’ll _both_ be late for pilates.’  
  
‘Because last time I walked home from the gym, I met Erik, and I can’t have my legs looking like this if that happens again.’  
  
‘It’s fucking October, Nicky. You should be wearing sweatpants.’  
  
Nicky gasped. ‘I can’t believe you really suggested that. You know my legs are my strong suit.’  
  
Allison pursed her lips at him. ‘Honey, I keep telling you it’s your ass.’  
  
‘Don’t worry, I’m nearly done. Look.’ Nicky held up his left leg, which was only partly soapy. ‘We can go in five minutes, I swear.’  
  
‘Oh damn,’ Allison whistled. ‘I forgot how nice your legs are. I take it back. You should wear hotpants.’  
  
‘Unfortunately, I don’t own those,’ Nicky complained, quickly shaving the last leg of his leg. _Ha._ Last leg. Of leg. Hi-larious.  
  
‘Wait, I think I do. Hold up, let me grab them for you.’  
  
‘But my ass—’  
  
‘Sweetie, these things stretch a lot. Besides, it’ll give him a superb view of your dick too.’  
  
‘I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…’ Nicky said, wiping the shaving cream off his legs with a towel.  
  
‘Nonsense. Trust me. Have I ever not gotten anyone I wanted?’  
  
Nicky thought it wise not to point out the Awkward Lesbian Situation in her house.  
  
  
  
‘I’m so sweaty right now.’  
  
‘Nah, you look great. And gay.’  
  
‘Really?’  
  
‘Really.’  
  
‘Are you sure these pants aren’t too much? I feel like you can see my every ball movement.’  
  
‘I can, but I’m also kind of loving it.’  
  
‘Huh.’  
  
  
  
After ten minutes of walking in the cold October air, Nicky was _not_ loving his stretchy hotpants.  
  
It was too fucking cold, and he was pretty sure he couldn’t even find his dick if he tried.  
It was _that_ cold.  
  
So of course, Erik was sitting outside the store, watching the night sky.

Nicky very carefully stepped over Erik’s legs. ‘No tripping this time.’  
  
‘And no blood,’ Erik said.  
  
Ah.  
  
‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you one of my friends had an aggressive period attack, right?’  
  
‘Right.’  
  
Nicky sat down beside Erik on the ground, and felt the last of his dick die as his perky ass touched the ice cold ground.  
  
‘So I play this sport…’ he started. ‘Exy. And it’s kind of brutal. Like, there’s almost always injuries on the court. And my friends get into a lot of fights, because the mafia and shit. But that’s all resolved now!’  
  
Erik blinked at him. ‘Exy?’  
  
‘Yeah, it’s kind of like lacrosse, but then like, with a lot more blood.’  
  
‘I’ll look it up,’ Erik said, and wasn’t that just wonderful?  
Because why else would Erik look it up, if he wasn’t at least a little interested? Right? _Right?_ Unless he loved violence and blood.  
And lacrosse.  
  
‘Sorry for freaking you out,’ Nicky said quietly. ‘Was it at least better than the awkward dick comments?’  
  
Erik laughed. ‘Definitely not.’  
  
They were quiet for a while.  
Nicky shifted his cold legs together.  
  
Erik noticed, because he waved his hands and said, ‘Come here. You look cold.’  
  
_Yes!_ Nicky’s heart screamed,  
but he managed to very calmly deposit his legs in Erik’s lap, _his lap_ _wow_ , and not let out a moan when Erik’s warm hands wrapped around his smooth legs.  
  
‘Woah,’ Erik said. ‘You’re freezing.’  
  
‘Tell me about it,’ Nicky complained, closing his eyes and basking in the warmth of husband’s big hands. ‘I swear I can’t feel my dick anymore. It’s gone. Frozen.’  
  
Erik’s hands paused.  
  
_Um.  
  
_‘Don’t worry!’ Nicky said quickly. ‘It’s still there!’  
  
Silence.  
  
God.  
_It’s still there._ _  
_ Why, exactly, did he say that? Now husband didn’t need to check.  
  
‘I believe you,’ Erik smiled, then continued rubbing Nicky’s legs like nothing awkward had been said, trying to get them warm again.  
  
Warm.  
Again.  
  
Ducking his head, Nicky hid his smile.  
  
How did Erik always make him feel so much warmer?  
It was a cold evening, his ass was on the fucking frozen ground, and yet Nicky felt himself start to relax.  
  
His eyes even started drooping closed.  
  
Deep down he knew it was wishful thinking to call Erik his future husband,  
but so far everything they’d done together had made Nicky feel so completely  
_at home_.  
  
‘Hey,’ Erik said softly. ‘Please don’t fall asleep. I’ll feel obliged to carry you home, and I don’t think my arms are strong enough to do stairs.’  
  
Nicky smiled sleepily. ‘But you’d manage the whole way there?’  
  
‘I don’t want to brag, but yes. Think so.’  
  
‘Hmm,’ Nicky hummed, thinking all kinds of forbidden thoughts like wall sex and Erik fixing shelves in the walls of their future home.  
  
After a few minutes, Erik squeezed his leg. ‘Your legs don’t feel like ice cubes anymore.’  
  
With a sigh, Nicky removed his legs from future husband’s lap. ‘Thank you.’  
  
‘Why did you wear such short ones anyway?’  
  
The words fell out of Nicky’s sleepy mouth before he could stop himself. ‘Don’t be ungrateful.’  
  
Oh.  
God.  
  
Nicky turned to Erik with wide eyes.  
  
Erik looked very stunned.  
Then he laughed.  
  
‘I’m not, trust me. Just looking out for your health.’  
  
Nicky’s cheeks coloured red,  
but he smiled back.  
  
‘Yeah, sure,’ he bluffed, taking the biggest leap of his life _holyshit_ he couldn’t just say this, could he? ‘You just wanted to feel them.’  
  
‘Busted,’ Erik grinned.  
  
_Oh god oh god oh god_ Erik wanted to feel his legs. He! wanted! to feel! his legs! Nicky’s legs!  
  
Nicky’s brain stopped functioning, so all he said was, ‘Oh.’  
  
Erik didn’t take his _oh_ like a positive thing.  
  
‘Sorry,’ Erik said immediately, cheeks now matching Nicky’s. ‘I thought it was okay. I should’ve checked.’  
  
No, no, no, husband was interpreting this all wrong.  
  
And see, if Nicky was a sensible young man he would’ve said that Erik _had_ given him a chance to say no.  
  
But _noooo_.  
No, Nicky panicked.  
  
‘It was okay! You made my dick feel alive again!’ _Dick?_ ‘I meant legs!’ Though also dick. ‘Oh god, I meant my legs. ‘Cause they were cold. Very cold. And your angelic hands made them warm again, because you always seem to make me warm.’ _Angelic-_ wait what. ‘I mean, you have a nice smile.’  
  
Nicky abruptly moved to his feet. ‘I need to go.’  
  
Erik followed his example. ‘Are you okay?’  
  
_No._ Nicky currently detested his mouth with all that he was.  
  
But husband was looking at him with an almost _fond_ smile, and Nicky found that he could forgive his mouth very quickly.  
  
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I just… rambled.’  
  
‘I noticed.’  
  
‘Sorry.’  
  
‘There’s nothing to be sorry for. Though...’ Erik looked down at Nicky’s legs. ‘I guess I’m sorry to watch those go.’  
  
Oh  
_god_.  
  
Nicky made a choked off sound,  
like he was dying but very happy about it,  
before nodding weirdly and quickly turning around.  
  
His brain rebooted somewhere on the stairs to his apartment.  
  
He’d barely closed the door behind him, heart still hammering in his chest, when his phone chimed.  
  
[Kevin]  
Still no date or number?  
  
Nicky let himself fall on his couch with a groan.  
  
  
  
In the end, Kevin decided to take matters into his own hands. Meaning, he had a bottle of vodka in his hands and brought it to Nicky’s apartment.  
  
‘We’re getting drunk,’ he announced. ‘And then you’re going to the supermarket, and you’re gonna ask that guy’s number or I will do it for you.’  
  
Nicky eyed the bottle of vodka.    
  
Kevin sighed and produced another bottle from his shoulder bag. ‘I got this sweet shit for you too.’  
  
Nicky grinned. ‘Awesome.’  
  
  
  
God, had the supermarket always moved around so much?  
And it seemed so far awaaay.  
  
Nicky felt the little slope he had to conquer to even get to the sliding doors was going on forever and ever and ever and ever.  
  
‘You tryin’ to keep me from my husband?’ he yelled at the mean slope. ‘Well. _Well_ , you’re wrong. _Wrong_. Nothing can keep me from my husband, okay?’  
  
‘Who are you talking to?’ Kevin slurred, pushing against Nicky’s back. ‘Is this your husband?’  
  
He crouched and peered at the ground.  
  
‘ _Nooo_ ,’ Nicky said. He snorted. ‘Though he’d be pretty, pretty _hard_ , right?’  
  
He laughed loudly at his own joke.  
Kevin joined in, until he lost his balance and fell on his butt and then it was impossible to stop laughing.  
  
After four tries, Nicky got Kevin to his feet, and together they stumbled inside the supermarket.  
  
‘Where is he?’ Kevin whispered too loudly.  
  
‘Dude, you’re tall! You can see every, like, _everything_. Every husbands.’  
  
Kevin nodded sagely. ‘I do see husbands.’  
  
‘Mine is usually near the money,’ Nicky said, pushing Kevin to the cash registers. ‘He’s making money to provide for our baby.’  
  
‘Baby?’ Kevin slurred. ‘Who’s the baby?’  
  
‘I’m the baby.’  
  
‘What?’  
  
‘I’m the baby. I want to be his baby Kevin. Have his babies.’  
  
Kevin frowned. ‘That's not how biology works.’  
  
‘Our love defies the laws of nature,’ Nicky slurred, and suddenly there he was, husband, defying every law nature was throwing at him by merely existing.  
And being so perfect at existing too.  
  
‘There he is!’ Nicky said, pointing at Erik, who was looking at him with perfect faces. Faces?  
_  
_ ‘Hi Nicky and friend,’ Erik greeted them with a smile.  
  
‘Friend,’ Kevin said. ‘That’s a nice name.’  
  
‘Uh,’ Erik said. ‘Are you guys… drunk?’  
  
‘No, no, no,’ Nicky said, pushing past Kevin and leaning against the counter. He vaguely heard a woman complaining behind him, but well, her love life wasn’t on the line so. ‘I have a question. For you.’  
  
‘Oh?’  
  
Nicky leaned closer. ‘Yeah.’  
  
The corners of Erik’s mouth twitched. ‘Well, I’m listening.’  
  
Going for maximum interrogation mode (why was he interrogating husband again?), Nicky leaned even closer, until his drunk mind registered the distance between their faces, which was practically existant.  
Uh, none exist—  
Not exit—  
_Zero_.  
  
Suddenly, it was very hard to focus on anything other than wanting to smooch Erik’s face off.  
Smooch all over his lips. Lick inside his mouth. Yes.  
  
‘Nngh,’ said Nicky.  
  
Luckily, Kevin pulled him back then, exclaiming, ‘I am winging it!’  
  
Yeah. Wings. Nicky giggled. ‘You know who has wings?’  
  
But before either Kevin or husband could answer, a woman walked past them, shaking her head and giving them a mild glare.  
  
Nicky spun around to check who else they had to deal with before he could smooch his dream man, but his eyes got stuck on Erik’s gorgeous face again.  
  
‘I want to ask you something,’ Nicky repeated seriously.  
  
‘Maybe you need to sit down first,’ Erik said. ‘You’re swaying a lot.’  
  
‘I’m _fiiine_. Just like Neil. Ha! Haha, Kevin, did you hear my joke?’ Nicky turned around, and _woah_ bad idea because suddenly the store was spinning and he couldn’t find Kevin anywhere and maybe, woah _maybe_ , Kevin was just in his head.  
  
Nicky closed his eyes, trying to find Kevin.  
  
And then his legs gave out,  
and he passed out in the supermarket.  
  
  
  
Nicky’s head hurt.  
  
Luckily, he’d just made his bed, because his sheets smelled fresh and cozy, so there was really no point getting up just yet. Better wait the headache out, and make it a slow morning.  
  
But when he moved his head, he felt he was only lying on _one_ pillow, and that was strange. He always slept with two.  
  
Nicky slowly opened his eyes.  
  
This  
was not  
his room.  
  
_Where the fuck was he?  
  
_Nicky lurched up and— _wow_ bad idea.  
He grabbed his head and groaned as it pounded painfully.  
  
When the worst had passed, Nicky allowed himself a moment to look around the small room. There wasn’t a lot of personal stuff, just a few pictures on the wall of—  
_Oh god_.  
  
Just then the door opened, and Erik walked in. In his pyjamas.  
  
‘Oh no,’ Nicky moaned, heart sinking. ‘This can’t be happening. Oh no, oh no, _oh no_.’  
  
‘Uh.’ Erik raised an eyebrow. ‘Good morning to you too?’  
  
He sat down on the bed, and Nicky was torn between moving back, because he surely had gross alcohol breath, or moving closer and feeling Erik’s warm and perfect body.  
  
‘How are you feeling?’ Erik asked gently.  
  
‘Miserable. I can’t believe I was too drunk to forget our first time. What am I supposed to tell the kids?’  
  
Erik blinked. And blinked.  
  
Then, ‘You’d tell your kids about your first time?’  
  
‘Obviously. I believe in an open attitude towards sex.’  
  
‘So you’d want to hear about your parents’ first time?’  
  
The idea was so gross Nicky nearly gagged.  
  
‘ _Eww_ ,’ he said. ‘Why’d you say something so damaging?’  
  
Erik laughed.  
Then he moved to his feet.  
  
‘Looks like you’re still a little out of it. I’ll make you breakfast.’  
  
Tears sprang in Nicky’s eyes. His husband really was the best.  
  
‘Bathroom’s over there, by the way,’ Erik said, pointing to a door to his left. ‘If you want to take a shower. Wash off all the sex, you know.’  
  
There was knowing grin on his face as he said this,  
which made Nicky slightly suspicious.  
  
And then it clicked.  
  
Nicky felt his cheeks flush. ‘We didn’t have sex, did we?’ he muttered.  
  
‘Nope,’ Erik said, the grin on his face spreading to a full blown smile.  
  
The smile made Nicky feel slightly better about the situation,  
because at least Erik didn’t seem to find it off-puttingly weird.  
  
‘I’ll go take a shower,’ Nicky announced, feeling like this was his well-deserved walk of shame.  
  
As soon as he stepped out of bed, he noticed he was wearing his clothes from yesterday.  
  
How had he thought for even a second that they’d had sex?  
  
_Well_. Wishful thinking, obviously.  
  
  
  
His phone had all the answers.  
Not.  
  
There was just one (1) text from Kevin, that said,  
  
[Kevin]  
wour welcome  
  
Nicky typed furiously on his phone.  
  
[Nicky]  
How??? how did this help me??? i thought we had SEX1!!  
  
[Kevin]  
what  
  
[Kevin]  
we never had sex  
  
[Nicky]  
ugh  
  
[Nicky]  
go eat breakfast  
  
  
  
Damp and fresh from his shower, Nicky wiped the bathroom mirror and peered at himself.  
He didn’t look too bad. He always thought he pulled off the wet hair look pretty well.  
  
_Sigh_. He could use a little extra right now.  
  
He’d literally blurted out that they had sex, when they so obviously hadn’t.  
When they didn’t have each other’s phone numbers.  
When there hadn’t even been a first date yet.  
  
He walked back to the bed, and found fresh clothes folded on top of the covers.  
Erik must’ve put them there. For him.  
For Nicky, the Gay Disaster.  
  
Ugh, that man was too sweet and dreamy for the world.  
Surely he belonged in Nicky’s dreams,  
where he said and did all the right things,  
touched Nicky in all the right places,  
and loved him for the entirety of their lives.  
  
Nicky sighed.  
He had a boner right now, and it was kind of awkward.  
  
‘Nicky?’ Erik called out. ‘I laid some clothes out for you.’  
  
The door opened and—  
  
‘Holyshit I’m still naked!’ Nicky exclaimed, reaching for the pile of clothes and quickly pulling on his boxers.  
  
He turned around with a forced smile. ‘Yes! I am. Clothed.’  
  
Erik said nothing,  
because Erik was staring at Nicky’s crotch with a blush on his face.  
  
What was wrong with his—  
_Oooh_.  
  
‘I have a boner,’ Nicky said.  
  
‘I can see that,’ Erik said, voice hoarse.  
  
‘This is very awkward,’ Nicky said.  
  
Erik’s laughed awkwardly. ‘Is it?’  
  
Meanwhile, it needed to be said that Nicky’s boner was relentless.  
It kept its prime state throughout the awkward staring and talking, whereas Nicky had kind of hoped it would hide away in shame like he wanted to do.  
  
Finally, Erik tore his gaze away. He coughed. ‘Breakfast is ready.’  
  
And Nicky’s mouth.  
Nicky’s mouth just said, ‘Does it include sausages?’  
  
  
  
Breakfast was delicious. And very quiet. Mainly because Nicky was stuffing his mouth full with bread, in case it thought it could say more nonsense.  
But not in this house.  
  
Yet Nicky was curious. ‘What, uh, exactly happened last night?’  
  
Erik took a sip of his coffee. _  
__Oh boy.  
  
_‘Well, you kept yelling you had a question for me. Then you passed out, so I waited until either you or your friend woke up, but that took a while so... I figured I could maybe, uh.’ Erik blushed. ‘Carry you to your house. But then your friend woke up, and told me you didn’t have your house key? And he didn’t have his either, but he said he could go to a friend’s nearby. And then he just kind of… walked off.’  
  
Nicky cringed.  
Wingman, his ass. Kevin had just walked off.  
  
‘So I asked my boss if I could go home early, and-’  
  
‘Carried me home?’ Nicky suddenly perked up.  
  
He could maybe forgive Kevin if it meant he had been carried bridal style over Erik’s doorstep.  
_Gasp_.  
Did this mean they were now married? Was husband finally his real husband?  
Oh wait, no, that was not how weddings worked.  
  
‘No, uh, I ordered a taxi,’ Erik said awkwardly. ‘Sorry. My house is a little farther away than yours.’  
  
‘Oh,’ Nicky’s mouth said. ‘Guess you have to train harder.’  
  
A startled laugh escaped Erik. ‘Guess so.’  
  
‘Or not,’ Nicky added quickly. ‘I mean, you don’t have to, like, carry me around, haha! I have _legs_. In case you haven’t, uh, noticed.’  
  
‘I had, but thanks for pointing them out.’  
  
Nicky’s face burned.  
  
Erik had noticed his legs.  
Had mentioned them before too. Did this mean he found them… attractive?  
There was a high possibility. Erik had even kissed him once. And you kissed people you liked. Right?  
  
As if on cue, it started raining outside. Like the weather was going for the full, immersive flashback to the greatest kiss in Nicky’s life.  
  
Suddenly, he could feel the cold october air,  
the warmth of Erik’s hand in his hair  
and their lips moving quietly together, burning Nicky up inside.  
  
‘So what did you want to—’  
  
‘Kiss me,’ Nicky breathed.  
  
‘—ask… me…’ Erik trailed off, eyes wide.  
  
‘Uh,’ Nicky said, ice travelling through his veins as his brain caught up to his mouth, and—oh no. Erik was moving to his feet.  
  
He was going to walk away, wasn’t he?  
  
‘Sorry!’ Nicky blurted out, heart racing in his chest. ‘I shouldn’t have...’ He trailed off as Erik walked around the table, and stopped next to him.  
  
Nicky dreaded looking up at him.

‘Are you mad?’ he asked in a tiny voice.    
  
‘What?’ Erik crouched down, and suddenly it was so much easier to meet his eyes. ‘I’m not mad,’ he said softly. ‘I’m merely fulfilling a request.’  
  
There was the hint of smile on his lips,  
and Nicky wanted to taste it.  
  
‘Can you move a little closer?’ Erik asked gently.  
  
So Nicky scooted to the edge of the chair, his legs bumping briefly against Erik’s chest.  
In response, Erik curled a hand around the bend of his knee.  
So warm. And steady. And perfect.  
  
‘I’m sorry,’ Nicky said, ‘I keep blurting out what I’m thinking without thinking about it.’  
  
‘Mhm,’ Erik said, slowly rubbing his thumb over Nicky’s knee. It felt nice. _Really_ nice. ‘I don’t mind. I like when you tell me what you want.’  
  
‘Oh,’ Nicky said. It came out a little breathy. ‘I want you to kiss me.’  
  
His words floated between them for a few seconds.  
  
The hint of a blush spread on Erik’s cheeks, and it looked adorable and handsome and every other positive adjective in the world.  
Or maybe those were reserved for the feeling in Nicky’s chest when he leaned forward, and pressed his lips to Erik’s.  
  
They kissed in the quiet of the kitchen,  
the only sound,  
once again,  
the soft patter of rain hitting the windows.  
  
Erik gripped Nicky’s other knee, and pulled him forward.  
Well, Nicky didn’t need to be told twice. He immediately wrapped his legs around Erik’s waist, and held on tightly.  
  
_Take me with you, husband_ .  
  
And Erik did.  
Because he was perfect like that.  
  
Groaning from the effort, or maybe because Nicky had just slipped his tongue inside Erik’s mouth, Erik lifted Nicky up  
and carried him to the bedroom.  
  
‘Perfect,’ Nicky muttered between their lips.  
  
‘Ugh,’ Erik groaned. ‘The bed is too low. I’m afraid you’ll fall really hard.’

Nicky peppered kisses along Erik’s jaw. ‘Already did,’ he murmured.  
  
A breathless laugh escaped Erik that sounded absolutely wonderful.  
  
‘Wait, I know.’ Erik turned around, and slowly sat down on the bed and yes yes _yes,_ now Nicky was straddling husband’s perfect thighs. Just like he’d dreamt of. For many, _many_ nights.  
  
Nicky couldn’t help but wiggle in satisfaction.  
  
‘Nngh,’ Erik said.  
  
‘I have a boner,’ Nicky announced smugly.  
  
All Erik managed was a choked off sound, so Nicky leaned back to check if something was maybe wrong.  
  
But nothing was wrong.  
And everything was wrong.  
  
Because Erik looked up at him with large pupils,  
red cheeks,  
and a delighted smile on his face.  
  
Because Erik was looking at Nicky  
like he was the most perfect human being he’d ever seen.

Nicky’s heart stuttered in his chest.  
  
‘I wanted to ask for your number,’ he blurted out. ‘Yesterday.’  
  
Erik looked surprised for maybe two seconds before he smiled.  
  
Nicky could wax poetry about that fond smile.  
And then he felt it against his neck.  
His jaw.  
His ear.  
  
‘Sure, Nicky,’ Erik whispered. ‘Everything you want.’  
  
Shivers went down Nicky’s spine  
at the words,  
and the hot breath against his ear.  
  
He moaned. ‘That’s it. That’s what I want.’  
  
Erik hummed, leaving soft, open-mouthed kisses all along his neck, causing more shivers to wreck his body.  
  
Nicky’s body was humming with arousal,  
feeling hot and warm and safe and beautiful.  
  
‘Is it…’ Nicky breathed, ‘is it bad to talk about dicks again?’  
  
Erik laughed. He sounded a little out of breath. ‘I think now’s the _best_ time to talk about dicks.’  
  
‘Really? ‘Cause I’ve been thinking about yours for _weeks_ . I’m even thinking about it right now,’ Nicky’s mouth said. ‘Also, I feel like now is a good time for our dicks to get acquainted. Let them meet face to face. Don’t you?’  
  
Erik leaned back.  
Which was how Nicky knew it had finally been too much. His mouth had officially ruined the best thing in his life before it had even happened.  
  
His heart clenched painfully. He would have to go live out the rest of his days as a monk now. No other man would do.  
  
‘I’m not someone who falls in love,’ Erik said, shaking his head. ‘But every time you talk, I’m reminded why I fell for you in the first place.’  
  
Nicky would legit start crying.  
His heart felt too big for his chest.  
  
‘This is so romantic,’ he heaved, trying to get air into his tight chest.  
  
‘I’m glad you think XXL condoms are romantic,’ Erik joked.  
  
An uncharming snort escaped Nicky’s mouth, that relieved some of the immense tension on his chest.  
‘Okay,’ he sighed, feeling satisfied and comforted. ‘We can continue kissing.’  
  
Erik smiled. ‘Wonderful.’  
  
  
  
They ripped each other’s clothing off.  
More like, Nicky tried while Erik was undressing him sweetly,  
and then they were in the bed, the sun shining down on them.  
  
‘Oh, the sun…’ Nicky said.  
  
‘Do you want me to close the curtains?’ Erik asked, his hair a fluffy mess from Nicky’s hands.  
  
Something possessive curled in Nicky’s stomach, so he wound his hands through Erik’s blonde hair again and held on tightly.  
  
‘No, I _love_ it. I want to see your dick in all its glory.’  
  
In response, Erik leaned back and quickly undid his fly, revealing a Big Bulge.  
  
Nicky’s eyes zoomed in on the bulge that contained only his future husband’s dick.  
  
He swallowed as Erik pushed his jeans off, and immediately ran his hands over the front of Erik’s boxers. Feeling for himself, fucking _finally_ , what he’d been thinking about for _weeks_ .  
  
Nicky hooked his fingers underneath the elastic and _pulled_ .  
  
Erik’s dick sprang free.  
Nicky stared.  
  
‘Satisfied?’ Erik asked, and it was super cute how he looked kind of insecure, like Nicky would say no to such a beautiful penis.  
  
Besides,  
‘It’s you,’ Nicky said, staring into Erik’s blue eyes. ‘Of course I’m satisfied.’  
  
For a second, Erik merely looked at him.  
It kind of looked like he was melting, or swooning, but then he leaned forward and captured Nicky’s lips in a heated kiss.  
  
‘I really want to touch you,’ Erik groaned between their mouths.

‘More than this?’  
  
Erik bit lightly on Nicky’s bottom lip— _oof_ , that was sexy—and Nicky leaned into the touch, that same heat curling in his stomach. The one that told him he should sink his nails into Erik’s skin, drag them over every inch he could reach and mark him as _his_ husband. And no one else’s.  
  
God, that was slightly disturbing and animalistic.  
  
Nicky had never felt like this before. He should maybe take a breather.  
But light sweatpants and boxers were infinitely easier to remove than heavy jeans, and with an impressive skill, Erik quickly rid Nicky of both.  
  
And then Erik’s hand was grasping Nicky’s dick and—‘ _Oh god_ ,’ Nicky moaned, hips shifting up.  
  
Erik’s grasp was firm and warm and so fucking good, _god_ , the man was a talented son of a b—  
  
‘You’re so beautiful,’ Erik groaned, moving his sweet kisses to Nicky’s neck, that rapidly weren’t sweet kisses anymore, but hot ones with lips and tongue and teeth and _yesss_ .  
  
Nicky was so far gone.  
  
He normally lasted so much longer, but he could feel every horny little blood cell rushing to his dick, making him so hard it nearly hurt. He was _so_ ready to bust a nut,  
until a sudden realization made him freeze.  
  
Erik noticed, and immediately stopped. ‘What’s wrong? Are you okay?’  
  
‘Your dick!’ Nicky exclaimed.  
  
Erik looked down at his dick in confusion. ‘What? What’s wrong?’  
  
‘I forgot to touch it!’  
  
When Erik looked up again, it was clear he didn’t understand how dire the situation was. Nicky had been thirsting for that dick for so long, and now he was so distracted by husband’s excellent hands that he’d forgotten all about touching him.  
Unforgivable.  
  
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Erik said.  
  
‘I worry about it!’ Nicky said indignantly.  
  
Erik’s lips twitched. He was trying very hard to fight his smile, and when that didn’t work, he pressed a sweet kiss to Nicky’s lips.  
  
‘Okay, okay, I’ll stop. It’s yours.’  
  
Nicky shivered at the words. The heat in his stomach curled and swirled around his spine, making him shift his hips slightly.  
  
Erik’s gaze darkened as he noticed. ‘You’re making this very hard.’  
  
Nicky grinned. ‘I thought that was the point.’  
  
Erik’s groan turned into a moan when Nicky wrapped his hand around his dick and gave it a good stroke.  
  
Nicky had to bite his lip so he wouldn’t moan too.  
Erik’s dick was hot and thick and really just… perfect.  
  
He gave it another pump, and Erik reacted with a deep sigh that travelled over Nicky’s spine. _Mmm_ , if this was how Erik sounded while jerking him, Nicky couldn’t wait to hear the sounds he made while they were doing _all_ the other things.  
  
He started jerking Erik with a steady rhythm, making sure to sometimes rub his thumb against the thick vein on the underside, or let his fingers slip a little lower.  
Every movement elicited a different reaction.  
A sigh,  
a twitch of his hips,  
a muffled moan.  
  
Nicky drank them all in, staring up at Erik with wide eyes. He willed himself not to blink, not wanting to miss one second of his husband coming undone by his hands.  
  
The words slipped past his lips. ‘You’re so beautiful.’  
  
Erik blinked dazedly down at him. There was a lazy smile on his face.  
He reached out his hand and brushed Nicky’s damp hair out of his face. ‘So are you.’  
  
Nicky turned his head so Erik’s fingers brushed over his lips. He opened his mouth and sucked one in.  
  
Erik sucked in a sharp breath.  
  
Nicky swirled his tongue around the finger, curling it around the pad before looking up with big eyes like he was in a porno.  
Well, it did feel kinda surreal this.  
Being with Erik.  
  
Judging by Erik’s shaky breaths, it was working though. Hm. Maybe there was a reason why they did this in porn.  
  
Before Nicky could exploit this newfound knowledge, Erik took back his hand with a groan and immediately swooped in to replace his finger with his tongue.  
  
Heck yeah. Nicky was _not_ complaining.  
  
He moaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Erik’s broad shoulders and pulling him closer.  
They fell back on the bed, Erik’s weight a comforting and sexy pressure on his chest.  
  
Nicky went ahead and wrapped his legs around Erik’s hips too, which had the super awesome bonus of their dicks touching.  
  
Nicky threw back his head and moaned. ‘God, I want you to fuck me.’  
  
Erik stilled.  
  
Nicky froze too, and looked up in panic. ‘No? Not sexy?’  
  
Erik coughed. ‘Very sexy. I just. I don’t have anything… You know, the necessities. I don’t… Uh.’  
  
‘That’s fine. I’ve been waiting for this dick for years, I think I can manage a few more.’  
  
‘Years?’  
  
‘Okay _no_ , I can’t wait more years. More like months. Weeks. Days would be good too.’  
  
‘No, no, wait, you said you were waiting for years? But I’ve only been here for a month or two.’  
  
Nicky’s brain paused. ‘Uhh.’  
  
How to explain to husband that he thought he was _the_ husband of all husbands? That Nicky thought he could live the rest of his days with him?  
That he was the one?  
  
How do you tell that to someone you barely know?  
  
But it seemed he didn’t have to,  
because something changed in Erik’s eyes.  
Like he seemed to… _get it.  
  
_ He pressed a soft kiss to Nicky’s forehead. ‘Explain it to me when you find the words, okay?’  
  
Heart swelling in his chest, feeling so _full_ of love he was sure he could cry, Nicky only managed a nod.  
  
But Erik seemed to understand.  
He pressed a kiss to Nicky’s lips.  
And another.  
And another.  
Until the kisses turned deep and intense, and Nicky had to break away to sigh about how perfect making out with Erik was.  
  
Erik laughed. ‘Is sighing a good sign?’  
  
‘It’s perfect,’ Nicky said, satisfied.  
  
‘You know what would make this even better?’  
  
‘Orgasms?’ Nicky blurted out.  
  
He wanted to slap himself for talking about their dicks again, however indirectly it was, except Erik actually smiled and nodded. ‘Yeah. What do you say?’  
  
‘ _Mmm_ .’ Nicky shifted his hips, and died a little when his dick brushed against _abs_ . ‘Can we just move together? Maybe a little jerking?’  
  
‘A little jerking and moving it is,’ Erik responded.  
  
And _wow_ , was that an understatement.  
  
The way they moved together was fucking fantastic. Nicky’s thighs plus Erik’s arms equalled a wonderful intense rhythm that nearly pushed Nicky off the bed.  
He grabbed the sheets and held on for dear life as he was assaulted by warm waves of pleasure.  
  
Every other trust, Erik would moan and bite his lip, which sent goosebumps down Nicky’s chest and arms.  
  
He’d made the right decision to hump each other into oblivion.  
The view down here was absolutely perfect.  
  
It wasn’t enough though, so eventually Erik leaned back and grasped both their dicks in his hand, quickly jerking them together.  
  
Nicky was slightly embarrassed about how much he was leaking, but it quickly became obvious he wasn’t the only one.  
The _slick slick slick_ of Erik’s hand was a wonderful sound, and Nicky groaned and shifted his hips in sync.  
  
‘Yes, yes, _yes, Erik_ .’  
  
‘Is it good?’ Erik asked, breathing heavily.  
  
‘ _So so_ good, _mmm_ , the best, you’re the best, don’t stop, please,’ Nicky babbled.  
  
‘Can we come together?’ Erik asked, almost shyly.  
  
He’d grossly underestimated how far gone Nicky was.  
He could’ve asked him for his apartment, a million dollars, heck even a puppy, and Nicky would’ve agreed.  
  
‘Yes, _fuck yes_ , let’s do it, let’s come together.’  
  
Erik moaned. ‘I’m close.’  
  
Desperate, Nicky reached up and dragged his hand over Erik’s chest. When he pinched one of his nipples, another beautiful groan ripped from Erik’s throat.  
  
God, Nicky could probably come from those sounds alone.  
  
He would come from those sounds for weeks to come.  
  
Speaking of, Nicky was so fucking close it felt like he was floating, the only thing tethering him to this world Erik’s hot hand steadily jerking his dick.  
  
‘ _Fuck,_ Erik— _nngh,_ so good.’  
  
‘You’re so beautiful,’ Erik moaned, squeezing their dicks, and that was it. That did it.  
  
Pleasure exploded through Nicky’s body,  
and his vision disappeared for a hot minute while he left his body and rode the waves of his best orgasm yet.  
  
Erik pumped him through it,  
until Nicky shuddered.  
  
When he opened his eyes, he was momentarily angry with himself for not keeping them open to watch husband’s orgasm face. But then his eye fell on Erik’s flushed cheeks and his heaving chest to the intense amount of white on his stomach.  
  
‘Wow,’ Nicky breathed. ‘So much come.’  
  
He dragged a finger through it. He wished he knew what husband’s come was, so he could do the sexy licking thing that he’d never tried before, but alas. It was a mixture, and no way did Nicky want to try some sort of weak-ass mix drink.  
He was a _man_ .  
He would drink that shit _pure_ or not at all—  
  
‘I want to collapse,’ Erik said.  
  
‘Come here,’ Nicky said, unintentionally making the greatest pun of the week. ‘ _Ha_ !’ he exclaimed. ‘Come. Here. Like, _come?_ ’  
  
‘No energy for puns,’ Erik complained, and collapsed beside Nicky.  
  
‘Mm,’ Nicky said. ‘That’s regrettable, but I think I can live with that flaw.’  
  
‘You always make puns after orgasms?’  
  
‘No, but that is a great way of living.’  
  
Erik’s eyes fell closed,  
but his mouth curled up into a satisfied smile that was adorable and sexy. Especially since he was still naked, and slightly sweaty.  
_Mmm_ .  
  
Nicky’s dick was making a valiant try to go again,  
but Nicky argued now was Prime Time to try cuddling with husband.

Or maybe sleep.  
Sleep sounded veryyy good too.  
  
Nicky yawned. But he couldn’t fall asleep yet. He could hear Allison’s voice in his head.  
  
_Gross boy._  
  
‘I need to… clean…’  
  
‘I will lick you clean,’ Erik mumbled sleepily.  
  
‘Please lick me… everywhere.’  
  
‘I will lick you everywhere.’  
  
‘ _Mmm_.’ Nicky smiled, satisfied. ‘You’re the best husband.’  
  
‘I am,’ Erik agreed proudly.  
  
And then they fell asleep.  
  
  
  
‘Wait, you fell asleep? In the morning?’  
  
Nicky turned around in his chair to give Kevin a glare. ‘We drank _a lot_ , Kevin. Also, I’m skyping with Allison.’  
  
‘But I’m here.’  
  
‘Yeah, but it’s not _my_ fault you’re early for our movie night.’  
  
‘Also,’ Allison piped up, looking up from doing her nails. ‘I think it’s cute that you fell asleep with a comestreaked stomach. Totally not gross or anything.’  
  
Nicky groaned. ‘Ugh, I knew you’d say that.’  
  
‘But continue. What happened then?’ Allison asked.  
  
‘Actually, I woke up because Erik was cleaning my stomach, which was _very_ sweet, and _slightly_ painful because the come had stuck to the tiny hairs on my stomach. So I ended up just taking another shower before leaving.’  
  
‘But you got his number now, right?’ Kevin asked.  
  
Nicky turned around to glare again when he actually realised that, no, he hadn’t gotten Erik’s number.  
  
‘Fuck,’ he said.  
  
  
  
‘Why don’t you go ask him now?’ Neil asked.  
  
Because Nicky had no plan for the morning after. Though it was technically the evening after.  
What did you say to someone you called husband, nay, _the_ husband of husbands?  
  
To someone whose dick you’d touched? Repeatedly?  
  
_“Hello, good game, well played?”  
  
_Probably not.  
  
Nicky looked at Andrew lounging against Neil, and shoved the warm fuzzy feelings away to frown and say, ‘I don’t want to make Andrew wait. For the movie.’  
  
‘I don’t mind waiting,’ Andrew said immediately. _Fuck_ , he had been paying attention.  
  
‘Uh,’ Nicky said.  
  
Was it really a good idea to march up to Erik and demand his number? What if Erik didn’t want this to last beyond a one-night stand, and the occasional awkward encounter at the supermarket?  
  
‘Wait a minute,’ Nicky whispered, suddenly knowing what to do.  
  
‘It’s been more than a minute, but okay,’ Kevin said.  
  
  
  
Head held high, Nicky stepped through the supermarket’s sliding doors,  
only to immediately crouch down and hide behind the soup aisle like a gremlin.  
  
Let it be said that Nicky was never one to back down from a stealth mission.  
  
Remembering his video game education, he sneaked past exhausted students (who didn’t see anything except the food anyways) and racist, death-trap stealing old ladies.  
  
He knew which aisle to go to.  
  
He didn’t even need to look at the labels. The black sparkly box had burned itself into his eyes.  
  
He quickly grabbed it and hugged it to his chest in the hope of fooling people into thinking it was just a box of crackers.  
A very, very, _very  
_big  
box  
of crackers.  
  
One he wished to eat with Erik, if possible.  
  
God, he wanted to eat every cracker with Erik.  
  
The line for husband’s cash register was very short, luckily, so Nicky hurried towards it with the love crackers in his hands, only to stop short when he ran past the ice cream freezers.  
_  
Hm.  
_While he was at it.  
  
He grabbed a few, then waited patiently in line until he was next.  
  
A big smile spread on Erik’s face when he noticed Nicky.  
  
It did funny things to Nicky’s heart, such as making him want to ugly cry.  
  
Nicky dumped the box of XXL condoms,  
together with the two magnums  
on the counter.  
  
_Boom_.  
Maximum awkwardness.  
  
Now there was no way this could get any worse.  
  
Except.  
  
Except when Erik grabbed the box of condoms,  
something crossed over his face, something that made his beautiful smile stutter.  
  
‘It’s like a Cinderella story, right?’ he said, but his voice was strained. ‘Looking for someone who fits these?’  
  
…

…….

………. _wha_ —  
  
_Wait, wait, wait._ Nicky’s eyes turned impossibly wide in shock.  
  
The tables had fucking tabled, because Erik seemed to think it was _Nicky_ who only wanted a one night stand.  
  
So Nicky did the only thing he could.  
  
He honest to god _screeched_ , then grabbed the box of condoms and yeeted it away.  
  
It hit the sliding doors, bounced off of them, and lay sadly—but still very impressively because that box was _big_ —on the floor.  
  
‘No!’ Nicky exclaimed. ‘This was meant to be a joke because the first time we talked I bought this on a dare, which I never even told you now that I think about it—oh, probably because I kept talking about dicks all the time. It’s just that whenever I see you, I kind of want to marry you, you know?’  
  
Silence.  
  
Oh  
no.  
  
Nicky’s cheeks _flamed_ as he realized what he’d just admitted.  
  
Erik stared at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open.  
  
Wow, people actually looked like that when they were stunned into silence.  
  
But the silence didn’t last long, as an old lady—why were there so many—accidentally kicked the box of condoms on her way out.  
Of the store. Not life.  
  
‘Litter!’ she exclaimed, then, back creaking, bent down and picked it up.  
  
‘Please don’t say anything,’ Nicky whispered.  
  
He was afraid anything might startle Erik out of his stunned daze at this point, and he had yet to figure out if that would be good… or bad.  
  
But nope.  
No, the universe decided Nicky hadn’t suffered enough.  
  
Because the old lady held up the box and said, ‘Someone dropped their XXL condoms!’  
  
Even though the radio was on in the store, it seemed like everyone had fallen quiet as they all turned their eyes to the lady, who was holding the condoms in the air like they were a torch guiding them through the dark.  
  
Nicky groaned.  
  
And finally, _finally_ , Erik blinked. And blinked. He looked around the store, at the people who stopped to gawk at the old lady with the condoms, to—obviously—the lady with the condoms, to Nicky, who was trying very hard to blend into the snack section. His face had to be as red as the chips packages.  
  
_Do me a flavour_ , Nicky thought, _and let me just disappear now.  
  
_‘Oh my god,’ Erik said slowly.  
  
‘I’m so sorry,’ Nicky said immediately. ‘I thought it was funny—’  
  
‘Oh my god,’ Erik repeated.  
  
‘—because I was afraid it was going to be awkward, you know? I mean, what do you say to someone you’ve had sweet, romantic sex with? Who also works at your supermarket?’  
  
‘Please let me kiss you,’ Erik said.  
  
‘Exactly! You can’t say tha...t.’ Nicky paused. ‘What?’  
  
Erik shifted awkwardly. ‘Um. Let me, uh, kiss…’  
  
‘ _Yes_ ,’ Nicky breathed, closing the distance between them like it was the last thing he’d do.  
  
The counter was a tricky obstacle,  
and Nicky nearly knocked the breath out of his body by slamming into it,  
but luckily Erik was meeting him halfway.  
  
Their hands found their home in each other’s hair, and they pulled each other closer until at last, their lips touched.  
  
Nicky let out a satisfied sigh.  
  
‘What?’ Erik murmured between their lips.

‘I’m happy,’ Nicky answered.  
  
Erik smiled.  
He leaned back.  
  
‘I am too.’  
  
‘Uh?’ someone called behind Nicky. ‘Can you maybe, like, I dunno, hurry up or something? I’m hungry.’  
  
‘Same,’ Nicky said.  
  
Erik laughed, shaking his head fondly. ‘I’m sorry, sir, we’ll wrap this up,’ he told the customer.  
  
He looked down at the two magnums, then frowned. ‘You don’t need these.’  
  
‘Sorry?’ Nicky said.  
  
‘No need to practice, right?’  
  
_Oh holy mother_ —  
  
Nicky’s spirit left his body.  
His mind was assaulting him with images of Erik’s dick, the one he’d seen in person, the one he’d touched with his own hands, the one his dick had come to know intimately.  
Ha.  
Had come.  
  
‘ _Nngh_ ,’ Nicky said. ‘I want to eat all the crackers.’  
  
‘What?’ Erik said.  
  
‘Nothing! Nothing. I’ll just… wait here? Browse the store… Maybe some magazines…’ When Erik smiled knowingly, Nicky winced and quickly said, ‘Or maybe just… wait outside. Look at some stars... Yeah.’  
  
‘I’ll take a break in five, okay?’  
  
Nicky smiled. ‘Yeah.’  
  
The smile Erik gave him in return set a swarm of butterflies flying in his stomach. If it wasn’t for the fact that everyone in the supermarket was still sorta staring at them and condom lady, Nicky would’ve thought he was in heaven.  
  
Alas.  
He was in the same supermarket he’d visited only twenty thousand times.  
  
  
  
[Kevin]  
you get his number??  
  
[Nicky]  
age is just a number baby, we can do whatever we want  
  
[Kevin]  
No, you can’t. What did you do this time?  
  
[Nicky]  
i purchased a husband ♡♡  
  
[Kevin]  
…  
  
[Kevin]  
you can’t buy people

**Author's Note:**

> this must be the gayest thing i've ever written.
> 
> Also yes, where I live you can just browse them gay mags. I decided to leave this in instead of rewrite the scene 'cause I really liked it. But I'm sorry it's a lil' inaccurate.
> 
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you thought if you want?? <3
> 
> EDIT: now with [the most beautiful ART ](http://cats-are-assholes.tumblr.com/post/180663211254/ha-who-even-had-umbrellas-any-more-if-you-can) I've ever seen!! ;u; by cats-are-assholes on tumblr


End file.
